Beethoven - The Complete Violin Sonatas, Volume 1 (2019)

Beethoven

Jiyoung Park, Yoahn Kwon

Sonata for Violin and Piano no.2 in A major, Op.12 no.2

This wonderful piece, Beethoven Sonata no.2, it is unknown when exactly this piece was composed. But as the result of Nottebohm’s study on Beethoven’s sketch note, it is assumed to be composed in 1795. The piece is still clearly inuenced by Mozart, but perhaps surprisingly, it is Beethoven’s mood that is lighter. It lacks dynamics and articulations comparing to the other Beethoven sonatas. The first movement has a dierent character, more aable, witty and it ows with humour, fascinating interplay of violin and piano. The slow movement is based on a lyrical, melancholic theme. Each of its two parts is gently announced by the piano, then repeated by the violin. The Finale marks something of a return to the good-natured opening, Allegro piacevole denoting pleasure rather than re. It has a high-spirited rondo with frequent humourous touches. Among the three Sonatas in Op.12, it is possible to assume that Sonata no.2 has been composed first and this piece was dedicated to Antonio Salieri just as Sonata no.1.

Sonata for Violin and Piano no.3 in D major, Op.12 no.3

Beethoven Sonata No.3 features a sense of grandeur, power and majesty found in few other works of Beethoven’s early years. The piano writing is often of near-heroic proportions, by far the most substantial in the first three sonatas. It might just as well have been channeled into a sonata for solo piano. It answers one each other and doesn’t meet with violin accompaniment but so involved does the game of catch-up become in this delightfully playful movement, both instruments urging each other on to new deeds. The slow movement is the first Adagio in Beethoven's series, con molto espressione. It has very much the emotional core of the work and one of the nest slow movements in early Beethoven. The finale is energetic, joyous rondo with a catchy if hardly distinctive main theme. Frequent contrasts of dynamics and register are a constant feature of the movement. Beethoven’s Sonata for violin No.1 through No.3 are included in Op.12. These three delicate pieces were composed in the same period between 1797 and 1789 when Beethoven was 27 to 28 years old.

Sonata for Violin and Piano no.10 in G major, Op.96

Beethoven composed his final violin sonata in 1812, nearly ten years after his second-to-last. It was written for the renowned French violinist Pierre Rode, who disliked overwrought virtuosity and gaudy endings and thus may have inuenced the calmness of this sonata. Gentle, musing atmosphere of Op. 96 is more probably an outgrowth of Beethoven’s evolving inner life. We encounter a “kinder, gentler” Beethoven, passing from his heroic middle period into a more ruminative, profound late period. In this piece, pain and struggle recede and are replaced by an intimate, pastoral warmth, relatively lyrical, subdued work. The first movement begins with a rustling, feathery trill, establishing the pastoral tone of the sonata. Shimmering trills, symmetrical arpeggios and melodies, and seamless exchanges between piano and violin set this apart as one of Beethoven’s most unique and fascinating violin sonata movements. The warm, hymn-like second movement, marked “slow and expressive,” is one of Beethoven’s most beautiful Adagios. A flowing, tranquil stream of melody is couched in rich harmonies. The peaceful movement concludes with a moment of suspended animation before diving into the more agitated third movement, Scherzo. Though distinguished by syncopated, end-of-the-bar accents, the music never becomes brusque. The Scherzo alternates with a graceful, waltzing Trio set over a bagpipe drone, again reinforcing the work’s pastoral character. In the fourth movement, Beethoven finally settled on a genial, folk-like melody as the basis for an unconventional set of variations. Four increasingly active variations lead to a prolonged, expressive Adagio, somewhat reminiscent of the atmosphere of the second movement. The initial theme eventually returns, leading to a boisterous section that is interrupted by a quiet, mysterious canon before returning to the original theme.The listener is surprised by a short, final Adagio, after which the violin and piano regain their resolveto exciting and joyous conclusion.

(Liner Notes in Booklet)

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Jiyoung Park

A soloist underlining the existence of art in the process of making music, Violinist Jiyoung Park entered the Korea National University of Arts (KNUA) as a young talent musician at the age of 16 and obtained her Bachelor’s Degree as a Violin performance and minor as Musicology in the Korean National University of Arts in Seoul, Korea. Following her studies at KNUA, she obtained her Soloist Diplomas at the ‘Hochschule fu?r Musik und Theater Hamburg’ in Germany, and also earned a Certification as a Specialized Music Performance, the Diploma "Interpretation Musicale Specialisee? avec orientation en Soliste" summa cum laude on admission and at graduation at the Haute Ecole de Musique de Lausanne (HEMU) in Switzerland.

She studied with violinist Pierre Amoyal, the one and only disciple who violin virtuoso Jascha Heifetz treasured, and violinist Kolja Blacher, former Concertmaster to the Berlin Philharmonic and soloist strongly confided in by maestro Claudio Abbado. Among her other teachers were violinists Anton Barovsky, Winfried Russman, and the renowned South Korean violin virtuoso, Nam Yun Kim.

Ms. Park started playing the violin at the age of seven in New Jersey, USA. By the time she had returned to Korea in 1991, she had already given several official concerts in South Korea. She was awarded the prize from the Competition for Young Musical Talent, and was presented as a young talented soloist on HCN. At the age of fifteen, she was designated as the leader (Concertmaster) of the Korea Chamber Orchestra while she was studying in the KNUA Pre-College Division Program for Young Artists in the Korean National University ofArts (KNUA).

Following her studies, she moved to Hamburg, Germany. She studied at the ‘Hochschule fu?r Musik und Theater Hamburg’ with Kolja Blacher. During her studies in Hamburg, she has given concerts in Laeiszehalle, Mendelssohn Salle and given numerous chamber music ensemble concerts and house concerts.

After since she moved to Lausanne, Switzerland, Ms. Park performed at numerous festivals and ensemble recitals in Europe. She was a member of the Camerata de Lausanne directing by Pierre Amoyal, giving concerts in France, Russia, Singapore and Switzerland, etc.

As a member to various musical societies, she has been the guest member of the Sinfonietta de Lausanne and Ensemble de Musique Contemporaine de Conservatoire de Lausanne, Ateliers de Musique Conservatoire (AMC). Among her repertoires she has collaborated works with several contemporary composers which were German, Swiss, andItalian contemporary works of the 21st century.

During her studies in Switzerland, she was a finalist in the Jeunesses Musicales Romania, and a finalist in the International Lyceum Club of Switzerland Music Competition. Her unique talent and sensitivity drew critical acclaim from the local press. She also collaborated with the Orchestra Chamber de Lausanne (OCL), Ensemble de Musique Contemporaine de Conservatoire de Lausanne, Ateliers de Musique Conservatoire (AMC).

Performing on stages at various venues, Ms. Park is as the Artistic Director of Ensemble de Rosemarie and teaching as a lecturer of violin in several Universities in Korea.

She had announced the album "Les trois e?toiles" in August 2018 and her recent CD, "Complete Violin Sonatas of Beethoven, Volume. 1" was just released in June 2019.

photo: from booklet AGCD0137

Yoahn Kwon

Pianist John Kwon, a native of South Korea, has won extraordinary critical acclaim for his deep musicianship, sensitivity, and rare insight. Renowned critic Harris Goldsmith called him a "versatile and interesting musician who keeps audiences' attention from beginning to end."

Mr. Kwon started piano studies at the age of nine. He attended at the Pre-College Division of The Juilliard School. After graduating from the LaGuardia High School of Music and Arts, Mr. Kwon received his Bachelor&#39;s and Master&#39;s degree from the Mannes College of Music.

At Mannes, he studied piano with Diane Walsh, theory and analysis with Carl Schachter with a generous scholarship award from the Jerry Seinfeld Family Foundation. Furthermore, Mr. Kwon completed the Stages du Perfectionenment at France&#39;s L&#39;Ecole Normale de Musiques de Paris, studying with Anne Queffelec for 4 consecutive years. He studied and mentored by pianist Jacob Krichaf (who was a student of Claudio Arrau) in New York during his formative years. And later frequently taught by great pianists and Pedagogues such as Anton Kuerti, Jacques Rouvier, and John O'Conor at the Wilhelm Kempff's Positano Beethoven Master Kurs in Italy, Banff Centre and Orford Academy in Canada.

With the essential interpretation based on his unique touch and painstaking musical analysis, he is warmly welcomed by audiences and critics on important concert venues in the world. Recitals, concerto appearances and his chamber music performances with members of the New York Philharmonic, Metropolitan Opera, Chicago Symphony, and

London Philharmonic Orchestra won critical acclaim. He has given complete performances of sonatas for piano and violin by Grieg, Faure, Brahms and Beethoven with violinist Jiyoung Park and has recorded several CDs for Audioguy, WFMT Chicago, and SONY Classical label.

Alongside his ongoing critically acclaimed concerts, Mr. Kwon&#39;s teaching is highly in demand by prospective students from East Asia. His recent private students successfully got accepted to many great conservatories and universities around the world such as Manhattan School of Music, Peabody Institute at John's Hopkins University, University of Southern California's Thornton School of Music, Ecole Normale de Music de Paris, HMDK Stuttgart, Hochschule fu?r Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin.

Beethoven - The Complete Violin Sonatas, Volume 1 (2019)

Beethoven

Jiyoung Park, Yoahn Kwon

Beethoven - The Complete Violin Sonatas, Volume 1 (2019)

Beethoven

Jiyoung Park, Yoahn Kwon

Digital Converters:

Merging Technologies Horus

Editing Software:

Pyramix, Merging Technologies

Microphones:

DPA4011A

Notes:

NativeDSD selectively creates higher DSD bitrates of label's releases using two methods (Merging Technologies Album Publishing and Singnalyst HQPlayer Pro), depending on the original edited master source. In order to understand the processes, a bit of background is appropriate.

NativeDSD sells only recordings that were originally recorded in DSD or DXD (352.8KHz PCM). The overwhelming majority of these recordings were edited and post processed in DXD, then converted (modulated) into DSD deliverable bit rates. NativeDSD acquires the label's original DXD edited master, and using Merging Technologies Album Publishing, creates a first generation DSD64, DSD128, and DSD256, as well as a DXD FLAC deliverable. Additionally, on selected recordings, a 32bit PCM WAV file is extracted (the DXD PCM FLAC is 24 bits by format definition), and uses it to modulate a DSD512 using HQPlayer Pro.

The exception to the above are the few label recordings (Yarlung, Eudora, Just Listen etc.) that record in DSD, and do no PCM post processing mixing, level balancing, EQ etc. That's doable by restricting post processing to just editing, where only the edit transition interval (typically 100ms or less) is PCM converted, leaving the DSD music content unaltered when rendered. For those recordings, the DSD edited master (the actual recording master with edits) is used with HQPlayer Pro to re-modulate the missing DSD bitrates.

Why do any of this? It's to provide a DSD bitrate deliverable choice, allowing a customer to purchase the highest DSD bitrate their DAC will support.

It's correct that there's no additional music content information contained in the higher DSD bit rate from the original DSD bitrate. What's different is the uncorrelated modulation noise content placement in the frequency spectrum. When a DSD original file is converted to DXD (PCM), the inherent DSD modulation noise is removed through the decimation filtering, and re-inserted when modulated back to DSD. The modulation noise (again, uncorrelated) is the carrier part of the DSD bitstream modulation, and an inherent part of the DSD bit stream.

While the spectorial shape is the same regardless of the DSD bitrate, it's effective start and end points move an octave higher for every doubling of the DSD bitrate. For DSD64, the uncorrelated modulation noise is about -110dB at 20KHz, rising to about -50dB at 100KHz. For DSD512, the modulation noise is about -110dB at 160KHz, and -50dB at 800KHz. What this allows is for the customer's DAC to use gentler, more Gaussian shaped reconstruction filters, with far improved phase response.